Blackinfinity

Congratulations Steve for the huge success. If he did live on my living standard he could survive almost 1 year and half with that money.But Yeah, Steve And Robert Rich are probably one of the few that can survive on their music.

Just recieved my Box Set from Steve. #58 out of 500. Listening to Destination Beyond. Almost midnight. And just Beyond from chillin out. Thinking about taking a trip out to the desert for an overnight camping trip. The box set will be a good listen in the fall landscapes of Cougar Buttes.

Got my box this weekend, though I haven't had a chance to listen to more than Destination Beyond. Had a moment where I felt frustrated it was only one track and that I couldn't fast-forward to later parts of the music. "Why doesn't he break these slabs up?" I thought. Then I realized I always just play the damn things all the way through anyway; he might as well make all his albums just one long track.

My first impression is that I don't care for this Destination as much as the other recent releases (Dynamic/Arc/Landmass), but I'd like to listen further to get a grip on it. I listen to Arc a ton, and that one didn't strike me immediately either. It's easier with the Immersions because I generally just play those before bed. I doubt I've ever heard more than 20 minutes of an Immersion release. Maybe he should just put them out as EPs?

Interesting to see that these flew off the "shelves" — I would not have expected it, since it's more meditative and static than, say, The Dreamtime Box.

Got #142. A nicely made slip case with beautiful silver spiral. This is a good deal. Am happy in the headphoning so far. I use the Immersions for sleep too, and I think the newest one will be quite a peaceful ride into slumber. I have tried them out during daily work as well, and they work quite well for altering the mood and creating a kind of grounding sense.

Haven't explored Afterlight enough to have a complete opinion, but I like especially how intricate and many layered these latter works are. So delicate and able to be read in multiple ways. There is a sense of reigned in chaos, beauty teetering on the edge of atonality. So many fine moments, extremely subtle, different every time.

Destination Beyond is most definitely the kind of Roach album I like. Flowing atmospheres and beats. I would almost say it is a combo of the pulsing beats from Fever Dreams, that bass sound, and the atmospheres of Immersion. Eager to listen again...

Played the fourth Immersion last night and I have to say it's my favorite in the series (though I've been hot and cold on the installments, enjoying Immersion 1, and two discs of Immersion 3, but not the others so much). Very engaging work, even though, as usual, it doesn't change much over the length.

I have to agree that the box was a good deal. If his CDs normally sell for $15 on his site, getting all three and a nice box for $35 suits me just fine. I also (finally) picked up Forrest's new album Phantoms, but I have not had a chance to play it yet. I figured he'd get more of a kickback if I picked it up at Steve's store than at Amazon.

Listened to Afterlight last night. Let it run while I was working, and it played twice. This album is very powerful. Steve Roach is basically doing a kind of occult classical music at this point; it can't be contained in the genre of Ambient anymore (or rather it is the sonic dream of Ambient fulfilled). This album spirals out of the speakers like a churning celestial engine. It has a kind of rough, dirty edge, a distortion to the sound. And it soars, the macro and micro coiling into each other in turn.

I'm glad Roach is discarding the track-based album altogether in these three releases. It makes the listener approach each work as a whole, and increases the depth of the involvement.

Does Afterlight change and develop substantially over its 74 minute duration (in a way that the Immersions don't)? I understand why they are mostly static, at least on a macro level - and it works for those pieces - but I'm not sure about getting another release of that nature.

Blackinfinity

Does Afterlight change and develop substantially over its 74 minute duration (in a way that the Immersions don't)? I understand why they are mostly static, at least on a macro level - and it works for those pieces - but I'm not sure about getting another release of that nature.

The sample does sound very interesting...

It is all one long flow...much like the Immersion series... But I would still consider it more dynamic perhaps.

it was two times a miracle : - first receiving it as the local post service is on strike (typical french symptom)- then being delivered "freely" by a key account selling manager of my colleague (as this kind of people don't give anything free ).

the box is nice, but not surprising.I like very much the picture taken for "Aftrelight". By the way, did anyone mention the resemblance between these pictures and the one taken for Jeff Pearce "Rainshadow sky" ? These three releases go very well along, both looking at and listening to.

I'm quite reserved and neutral about the music delivered by Steve Roach for "Destination beyond".I haven't listened to Immersion 4 yet, so time will tell.

I think I'll wait a while before I get any of these.I'm still discovering some older releases like Mystic Chords & Sacred Spaces. The beauty of that one is revealing itself to me and I'm gonna have to rank it among his very, very best, if not as the best. A glorious work with just the right amount of variation.

Been giving them all a spin or two.He sure doesn't go in for change-ups on these new releases. But I know that is their point.

Afterlight didn't do it for me, wrong tone for my ears. And too much the same.Immerson 4 seemed a little lacking in interest compared to II and III (for my taste). Ok on low though, in an Eno sense.Favourite would be Destination Beyond, primarily for the sequencing interest and variety.

I only picked up "Afterlight" and "Destination Beyond," and even then the money spent could've been better served elsewhere. DB is good, nicely done, but too similar to both Proof Positive and Arc of Passion. Afterlight left me completely cold, and sounds like a leftover from Dynamic Stillness. This sort of atonal, synths-out-of-tune idea has just run out of steam I'm afraid. Nice cover design, though. Looking forward to some new ideas from SR.

After my first listens, I'll name Immersion 4 as my current fave of the set.Its foundation sounds are rich and satisfying to my ear and because of the fairly stable nature of the piece, it should serve as a great sleep album for me.

I am digging the whole box set. Immersion is excellent for late night reading and sleep. Destination Beyond is a sweet blend of pulsing beats and cosmic atmosphere. It is not that similar to Arc after listening a bit more, there is something quite different going on. Afterlight is a deep, magisterial work, it can really involve you if you give it a chance.

One thing, Steve's titling is really getting stretched. I almost wish he would just start titling these with numbers instead of these strained, vague descriptors. Another problem, the fonts and type are just not working for me...

This sort of atonal, synths-out-of-tune idea has just run out of steam I'm afraid. Nice cover design, though. Looking forward to some new ideas from SR.

I can see why you would say that. I've enjoyed the technique in past works, but 'Afterlight' doesn't excite me so much - either because I've heard a similar process from him before, so I'm more consciously aware of the technical/musical aspects of it than I should be, or because it isn't as effectively structured to my ears as it could have been.

Still, to have released so many albums over such a long period and to have maintained this level of quality is a huge achievement. And his new material is still very high quality - I'd just be excited to hear him create something a little more active or detailed again. I know his imagination could surprise us as once more as it has done time and time again.